


The Forgotten Tribe

by Jade_Wonderlicious_221



Category: Original Work
Genre: :D, Africa, And more characters too probably, Conflict, Cute, Danger, Excitement, F/M, Family, Fun, Love, M/M, Modern Era, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Please Don't Hate Me, Please read, Plot, Resolution, Royalty, Sahara Desert, Short, War, indians - Freeform, more tags to come, try it out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-14 05:23:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4552248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade_Wonderlicious_221/pseuds/Jade_Wonderlicious_221
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank and Jezebel Walker, a middle aged couple, have been exploring the world together and having lots of fun. Little did they know that this one trip to visit the Sahara Desert would change their lives forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting Lilliuni

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while since I've posted on this website, and with this story I'll update whenever I like and if I have time. Hope you enjoy it anyway!

Frank and Jezebel Walker watched in fascination as they were driven through the beautiful Sahara Desert. Though the sun beat down strongly, animals still dared to come out of the shade and give the couple plenty of photo opportunities. Exotic places and wild animals were one of the many things they enjoyed together, and so when the proposition of going to one of the biggest and not to mention their first desert came up, it was immediately agreed. Frank Walker was a fit, forty year old man who had silver hair, dark eyes, and a loyal yet stubborn personality. His wife Jezebel, what with her slim, fit, hourglass figure looked younger than her thirty eight years would indicate. Her curly, shoulder length, dark red hair and piercing blue eyes gave her a sassy, adventurous vibe along with her personality which was kindhearted and patient. 

Both were wearing as little as possible due to the heat, but with their lots of traveling experience it wasn't unbearable. Tank tops, shorts, tennis shoes, sunglasses, caps, and of course plenty of sunblock. Their tour was about halfway over and even though most tourists would have been half asleep due to the heat and the constant droning of the tour guide, the Walkers were wide awake and loving it. 

"Hey, Belle! Look!" Frank aimed his camera and snapped a picture of the galloping zebra trying to catch up to the Jeep. 

"Oh wow!" She gasped.

"That could be you if it's stripes were red and white." He joked. "Someone's been dying their grandma hairs!"

She snorted. "I'm thirty eight! Getting my hair dyed once or twice isn't a crime, and besides look at you Mr. Fifty Shades of Grey!"

He rolled his eyes. "I hate you."

"Why are you smiling then?" She asked with a smirk.

Before he could respond, the convertible lurched forward and stumbled to a stop. The couple immediately got out, finding the tour guide opening the hood of the car. 

"Steven, what happened?" Frank asked, looking at the engine as the guide grabbed the tools from the trunk.

The man sighed and brought over the box. "Well...I think the heat was too much for the old girl today after two other private tours. Transmission's not working."

"Can you fix it?"

"I can try. While I do that, why don't one of you try and call for help? See if you can get signal out here."

Jezebel volunteered and was about to walk off when a hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Yes?"

Frank took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Be careful out there, okay?"

She gave him a quick peck on the lips in return. "I will." 

Walking down the path, she raised her phone high, trying to get connection. After half an hour she leaned against the trunk of a tree, wiping the sweat off her brow. "Come on! Give me some kind of signal!" She muttered, sinking down and hugging her knees, leaving her phone on the sand next to her as she tried to rest a moment. 

Little did she know that she was being watched. A young girl had been hiding behind a nearby boulder, having followed them for quite a distance. She watched the woman sit at the tree's trunk and lean her head back against it with her eyes closed. Creeping up ever so slowly, the girl grabbed what she had wanted. The phone. As soon as the smooth piece of tech was in her hand she darted off, kicking sand in the woman's face and startling her. Jezebel snapped out of it only to see a little girl with snow white hair running off with her phone. Jumping to her feet, she chased after the girl.

"HEY!" She shouted. "STOP!"

The girl glanced back but only for a second before running even faster. 

The chase went on for a good five minutes before Jezebel finally caught up to her and tackled her to the ground. She pinned her to the sand with her arms above her head. "Who are you? And what do you want with my phone? And why is your hair white?" She asked, panting heavily.

The girl said nothing but only glared at her defiantly. 

Realizing how hostile she had been acting Jezebel sighed and loosened her grip a bit. "If I let you go, you have to promise you won't run away and that you'll return my phone. I don't mean you any harm."

After another glare and a hesitant pause, the girl nodded and stood up before handing, or rather tossing back the phone with a roll of her eyes.

"First off, what's your name? How old are you?"

"Lilliuni. Eight."

"Why did you try to steal my phone?"

"Because of the tribe."

"What tribe?"

Clearly tiring of the questions, Lilliuni sighed and started to walk away.

"You promised you wouldn't run away, remember?" Jezebel followed.

The girl smirked. "I'm not running, I'm walking."

"Where are you going?" 

"Anywhere I can find-" 

Jezebel looked up and saw what had cut the girl short. Frank was jogging towards them with a bright grin on his face. 

"Belle! There you are! We got the...transmission...fixed." He stopped abruptly when he caught up, surprised and distracted by the young girl next to his wife. She had waist length white hair, caramel colored skin, blue eyes, and wore a very ankle length white dress. It was short sleeved with a scoop neckline, and a thin leather belt covered in blue and yellow feathers had been tied around the waist. She wore no shoes, seemingly used to walking on the hot sand. Lastly, she carried a brown leather medium sized purse over her shoulder and had a hand holding onto it, very protective of whatever was inside. "Who's this?" He asked.

"Lilliuni. She's from an Indian tribe, but that's all she's told me." She explained. "Lilliuni, this is my husband Frank."

"How did you find her?"

"She stole my phone."

He knelt down next to her and gave her a friendly smile. "Hi, it's nice to meet you." He offered his hand.

For the first time, the girl smiled. She even shook his hand. "You too." She said.

"Just out of curiosity, where did you come from and what did you need her phone for?"

"Far away, lots of miles from here. I needed something valuable to use as a peace offering for my tribe. I need to find something quickly because they're trying to kill me."

"What? Why?" Jezebel asked.

"You have a car, right?"

"Yes! Why don't you come back to the base and then back to the hotel with us until you find a peace offering? In exchange, you tell us everything and follow our rules."

"Okay, sure, fine, whatever! Let's go!" She said urgently as a faint horn sounded in the distance.

Soon, the trio made it to the jeep and were being driven back by Steven, who was too busy listening to the radio to pay much attention to the new passenger, who he didn't mind.

Frank sat in between the two of them in the backseat, the front seat occupied by the picnic cooler and supplies. He noticed his wife's silence and saw the look on her face. "Belle, what is it?" He asked quietly.

"I don't think this is such a good idea. I don't want a blood-thirsty tribe coming after us." She muttered.

"Would you rather leave this girl in the desert to die in cold blood?" He asked gently.

"No." She snapped, starting to get upset.

"I know you're scared, and to be honest I am too. Everything's going to be alright. Besides, you always said you wanted a kid someday! She can be your training, of some sort."

Her irritation was gone and she merely smiled a little and lay her head on his shoulder. 

Lilliuni watched the couple's affection with an almost unbearable envy. However, she refused to show it and planned to spend as much time with Frank as she could. She liked Frank, he was nice. Belle, as he called her, wasn't as nice and it was going to take some time to get used to her. When they finally made it to the base, and eventually the hotel, Lilliuni waited patiently while they changed clothes and took showers. She kept herself occupied by watching the magic box, or TV as they all called it. When they finally, finally, came out again the girl turned off the magic box and sat in front of them as they sat on the bed.

"Alright Lilliuni, now it's your turn to hold up your part of the deal." Jezebel said. 

"Okay. Well, my name is Lilliuni and I'm the princess of the tribe of Osmeron. There's always one person chosen to be the most intelligent, and whoever that person is, is the leader. When that leader grows old, a baby is chosen and with the years the old one has left they teach everything they know to the child. Once the child is eight years old, like me, they are leading with the old one as their adviser until they die. A few weeks ago, I was looking for the hunters to tell them about a new tradition I had made, wanting to get some exercise and go myself. However, I got lost and found a small house very far away. Exhausted, I collapsed at the door and when I woke up I found myself inside the strange house being taken care of by a nice old man and woman. 

They took care of me, and didn't ask any questions except if I was hungry, sleepy, thirsty, or if I knew any English. One of the things that is taught to the leaders and entire tribe is the basics of English so that way we can communicate with our enemy, also known as everyone outside of our tribe. You see, our ancestors had gotten into a war with you all because of our lower intelligence save for the leader, you overtook the old tribes and forced them to be used as laborers, or killed them because they posed as a threat to your people. So I stayed with the old people, Jane and John, for a long time. They took care of me and taught me the rest of the English language and showed me that not all people outside the tribe are bad and that some things had changed. They taught me more English, and showed me how some modern things worked. 

When I finally returned, the entire tribe was relieved at first and we all had a big party! Then, when I tried to tell them about what had happened, they grew very angry. They understood being kidnapped, and they were pleased with my new knowledge so as to use it for fighting but NOT escaping? And befriending the enemy? And not giving any clue to the tribe that I was okay, therefore leaving them to utter anarchy? They got mad, and they still are. Now I am one of their enemies, unless I can find them a peace offering to satisfy them. They are so simple minded that I couldn't get them to understand how times had changed and that people outside the tribe weren't all bad! That's why I'm on the run, and that's why they are trying to kill me." She ended panting, trying to get her breathing back to normal after her long winded rant.

The couple sat in silence for a moment, both processing what they'd just heard. 

Jezebel spoke first. "Wow, I'm so sorry Lilliuni."

Seeing something she liked in the woman for the first time, the girl nodded and smiled at her, a little. "Thank you for agreeing to help me. If it's okay, can I get a shower too?"

"Of course. Do you remember how it works?" The woman asked.

"No, not really." Lilliuni admitted shyly. 

"I'll show you, come on. Basically, this knob is hot water, the other one is cold. Right to turn it on, and left to turn it off." She explained,handing her a towel from the cabinet under the sink.

"Thank you."

Jezebel smiled slightly. "You never did tell me why your hair was white."

"It's a special dye my tribe makes for royalty only. White is a very royal color. We stole some of the dye from the people outside of the tribe and then mixed it with a special plant blood to make it permanent."

"That's pretty interesting, ever considering sharing your secret with me? I'm still trying to get rid of my grey hairs."

Lilliuni giggled. "If you're lucky!"

Jezebel was about to leave when she suddenly stopped. "Wait, you don't have a change of clothes do you?"

"No. I can wear this again."

"Not for tonight. We'll just ask for another bathrobe. And, don't you want to give one of us the bag so it doesn't get wet?" She asked, seeing her still holding it.

The girl's grip tightened and she shook her head no.

"Alright then. I'll hang the robe on the doorknob when it arrives."

Once Lilliuni had gotten her shower and put on the robe, she carefully put her dress on a hanger and hung it up. Then she turned around and was surprised to find a mattress for her on the floor. She grinned and flopped down on it, sighing contentedly and hugging her leather bag.

Frank and Jezebel, who just finished watching TV, noticed.

"Comfy, huh?" Frank chuckled. "Now, don't go running away from us, okay? That's a rule. We want to help you."

"Okay."

"Goodnight Lilliuni!"

"Goodnight."

And so, the three slept peacefully, especially the girl, with hope that she was safe for now and that nothing had happened to her precious leather bag.


	2. Failed Peace Offering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to make peace with Lilliuni's tribe doesn't go as planned.

Lilliuni quickly but silently woke up to the sunbeams peeking through the curtains of the window. She yawned and saw that the couple was still asleep. With a reluctant expression on her face, she got up, changed back into her dress, grabbed her bag, and sneaked out the door as quietly as she could. She tip toed down the hall and to the elevator, relieved she'd woken up at such an early hour so no one would see her, or her tears. As the elevator slowly went down to the first floor, she allowed herself that short time to cry. She didn't want to leave, but she had to. She knew it was only a matter of time before the couple started asking about her leather bag and what was inside it. She could never tell them, she'd protect the bag's items with her life and heaven forbid if she ever lost it or if they ever got a hold of it. One thing that was very different from her and the people outside the tribe, is that they had greed strong as steel. 

She sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes as the elevator opened and she ran out the doors and outside the building. She ran and ran and ran as fast as she could. Tears still fell, like drops from a leaking faucet. Despite the little time she'd spent with Frank and Jezebel Walker, she rather liked them. Especially Frank! She herself had never had a father or a mother, but had merely been taken care of by the previous leader, who wasn't bad but had been more of a teacher than a parent really. She'd always envied the other children of the tribe, but hadn't let it get to her until now. Frank was her favorite, what with his warm smile and friendly way. Jezebel was good as well, and after some time she liked her. 

She arrived at the nearest bus stop, out of breath and eyes red. Her hand moved instinctively to hold onto her bag when she realized that it wasn't there! In her wave of emotions, the bag must have gotten caught on something when she was running outside or when she'd sneaked out of the hotel room! Suddenly riddled with goosebumps, Lilliuni turned from the bus stop and began re-tracing her steps and looking around thorough. Although that was quite hard because she had to take her time to get a good look around, but also hurry because who knows where she might have left it and who could have gotten their hands on it! She searched the path, and the bag was nowhere to be found. That only left the hotel! She darted back inside, quickly glanced around and then headed for the elevator. 

"Come on! Move faster!" She cried desperately, banging on the doors. Finally, they opened and she fell face first onto the carpet. She jumped to her feet and ran off just in time before the elevator doors closed on her. Running down the hall she found the Walkers room and sighed with relief. Her bag had gotten caught on the doorknob and slipped off her shoulder! In her rush she'd not put it over her head and over her shoulder as usual, so when it was simply on her shoulder that made it easier for it to slip off. She walked over and pulled the bag off the knob and slipped it over her shoulder, happiness blooming inside her for the first time that morning. As soon as she'd put on her bag, the door opened and there stood a fully dressed and worried Jezebel. 

Jezebel gasped. "Lilliuni! Where have you been? We woke up and you were gone, but you forgot your bag! We've been so worried!"

Scared and uncertain that she could trust her or Frank anymore, thinking that they probably looked inside, she started backing away as she was questioned. 

"Lilliuni, what's the matter?"

"I...uh...sorry!" She hollered as she ran away. 

Unfortunately, Jezebel chased after her, whipping out her phone. "Frank? I found her! We're going down the stairs! Get to the lobby!"

The girl ran down the stairs, fear speeding her heart rate as Jezebel got closer. Finally making it down the last flight, she stumbled and nearly fell but managed to keep going. She thought she was in the clear once she'd got into the lobby, only to run right into Frank. 

He caught her, picked her up and wrapped her into the the biggest out of the few hugs she'd ever received. "Oh, there you are! Really had us scared there, kiddo!"

Unable to help herself, and unable to get out of his grip, she burst into tears for the second time that morning. 

"Hey now, what's with the waterworks? Hmm?" 

Jezebel caught up and put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "We should go back to our room. People are starting to stare."

Her husband nodded and made the mistake of putting her down, only to have her run away again. "Hey! Get back here!" He shouted, running after her.

Time had passed and even though it was early, it wasn't as early as it had been and people had started to trickle in and out of the lobby. Catching the suspicious look of the person behind the desk, Jezebel smiled and assured her everything was fine. 

Lilliuni wasn't able to run far because she was crying so much, and because Frank was a much faster runner than his wife. He caught her arm and pulled her over to him. He put his hands on her shoulders, glaring at her. "What is going on? Didn't you agree not to run away?"

Seeing his displeasure only made her cry harder. She'd disappointed him!

He sighed and picked her up again, holding her tightly and rubbing her back. "Alright, alright, calm down. Why don't we go back to the room and talk about this, okay?"

She nodded, and as soon as they made it back to the lobby she was handed over to Jezebel, which she actually didn't mind.

Once they were back in the room, the girl was finally starting to calm down. She sat in between the two of them on the bed, drying the last of her tears.

Jezebel handed her a small bottle of water and she gulped it down greedily, thirsty from all that crying. 

She started coughing, having drunken it too fast.

"Whoa, slow down." Jezebel said. "Now tell us, why did you run away?"

Lilliuni sighed. "Well, I HAD to leave! If I didn't, one of you might have taken my bag." She mumbled.

"Wait, what?"

"One thing that's very different about the tribe and people outside of it, is that the people outside of it are very greedy. The tribe is a community, a big family, who lives in harmony. And what's in my bag is EXTREMELY rare and VERY sacred. In addition to what I've already told you, taking this stuff with me is one of the reasons they're trying to kill me."

Frank looked confused. "Did you take that stuff with you when you got lost and were found by those other people?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then why did you take it with you this time?" He asked.

Reminiscing in the past, she scowled and held her bag tighter. "To teach them a lesson!" She snapped.

"And what lesson was that?" 

"That being different isn't a bad thing!" She nearly shouted.

Jezebel put a hand on the girl. "Whoa, whoa! Let's use our inside voices, okay?"

Lilliuni nodded and loosened her grip on her bag and relaxed.

"Why are you trying to teach them that being different isn't a bad thing?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it anymore." She admitted. "You're not mad at me like last time, are you? Because I didn't tell you everything?"

"Oh, we're not mad! What would make you think that?"

Frank ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "I shouted at her earlier." He took the child's free hand. "I'm sorry I did, but I was scared and worried. Okay?"

"So you're not mad at me?" She asked hopefully.

"Not one bit." He chuckled.

And without warning, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, and then did the same to Jezebel. "Thank you!"

Jezebel hugged the girl lovingly. Despite the fact that she was very intelligent and quick witted, she was still eight years old and still a child.

"Well I don't know about you two, but after all that excitement, I'm starving! Come on, while we're there we can come up with a game plan."

Once they'd finished breakfast, they headed out to the shops to try and find something that would be suitable for a peace offering.

"Wow!" Lilluni was impressed. "I've never seen anything like this before!"

Jezebel laughed. "Cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah!"

Frank looked around. "So what kind of peace offering are we searching for?"

The girl thought for a moment. "Something...blue...yellow...and shiny!" She gasped and pointed to a store right across the street. "Like that! Like that!"

When they'd crossed, the adults found that it was a jewelry store and Lilliuni was pointing eagerly at several pieces of golden jewelry.

"That's not going to work, it's too expensive, sorry kiddo." Frank said.

She nodded slowly. "You're right. Something similar would kind of defeat the purpose of me taking the stuff. It needs to be something valuable, but not like this. Perhaps a resource of some kind?"

Jezebel gasped. "Water! That's it! Something that has to do with water! That could work, right? I mean, they do live in the desert." She said, then was nearly knocked over by Lilliuni, who was apparently very excited about the idea. She merely smirked and ruffled the kid's hair. "Okay, okay, let's save the celebrating for later."

Lilliuni stopped hugging her and looked around as they walked on. Nothing carried what they were looking for so far, and even though the girl's hope was starting to diminish, she'd hang onto it for as long as she could.

"Hey, do you two mind if we stop here?" Frank asked. "We're running low on sunscreen and I could use something to drink, how about you two?"

"Yeah sure."

While Frank looked for the sunscreen and grabbed everyone drinks, Lilliuni and Jezebel looked around the camping store for something water related that could serve as a peace offering. Despite the fact that Lilliuni was very intelligent for an eight year old, and despite the fact that she'd spent some time with those old people in her past and she knew most things about people and things outside the tribe, there were still some things she didn't understand. 

"Jezebel, what's this?" She asked, holding up a miniature camouflage car from the kiddie section. "Are there small people outside of the tribe that I don't know about? Why is this in plastic? And why are they selling it?" She turned it over in her hands, looking confused.

"It's a toy car. There are no small people, it's just a toy to play with."

"Toy? Play? What do those words mean?"

Stopping her search, the woman turned to the puzzled girl. "A toy is something that children play with to amuse themselves and keep themselves entertained. Playing is either using toys, or making things up in your imagination for fun. You mean to tell me you've never had a toy in your entire life?"

"Oh! A toy is like those things the tribe children play with! I only saw them a few times though. And no, I haven't. You see, a baby is randomly chosen by the previous royal, who is now of old age and only has about twenty years left in their life time. They choose a baby who they think is perfect to be the next royal, and then for few years the baby is raised by their mother for needs only. Once the child is old enough, they are sent to the old royal to live with them until they die. So until the age of eighteen, the old royal educates the child with everything they know and advises them how to lead the tribe so at the age of eighteen they are fully ready to lead, and then a short while later the old royal dies." Lilliuni explained.

"Oh...wow." Jezebel was almost speechless. This poor thing had never really had a childhood.

"Yeah, wow is right." 

They turned around to see Frank standing there with his arms full of stuff. 

"I found something for the peace offering, and I think it'll work. Didn't want to interrupt your conversation though." He explained. "Anyway, I've got two more cans of sunscreen, three cokes, and two of these." He handed them to his wife.

"Spools? That's it! Oh, brilliant idea!" She gasped.

The child looked confused again. "A spool? Is that what you call these weird metal things?"

Frank chuckled. "Yeah. See, what you do it that you hammer these things into trees and then you turn this part, and water comes out! Think they'll like it?"

Lilliuni's heart swelled for the man once again. "They'll love it! Come on, come on! Let's go!"

After buying everything, they began walking back and talking about how long it would take them to get back to the desert, and what things they'd need to pack up to travel to wherever the tribe was located.

"This stuff is amazing!" Lilliuni beamed. "I love soda! I feel so...energized!"

"That's the caffeine. Now, from where you first met us in the desert how far away is your tribal camp?"

"It should be...about..." She trailed off, her face blanching in horror.

"What's wrong? What is it?"

She pointed towards a man with very dark skin wearing a simple t-shirt and cargo shorts. 

"Who's that guy?"

"Hide!" She hissed, moving with the flow of people and managing to get them to a nearby alley.

"Okay, what's going on?"

"That's Malacus! The head hunter from my tribe! He's come to find me and bring me back so they can kill me! And now that he's seen you with me that's all the more reason to have me executed! We have to run and get back to my tribe quickly! Hopefully those spool things will satisfy them!"

"Alright, come on. Follow my lead." Frank said.

Sneaking out of the alley, they carefully walked along and merged in with a group of tourists. Unfortunately, Malacus still spotted them and started running towards them. It took them a moment but they figured out that Lilliuni stuck out like a sore thumb with her white hair and foreign clothing. Running inside the nearest clothing shop, they quickly found her a new, bright pink dress and tied her hair up in a matching pink cap. Now that she was in disguise, it was a lot easier to escape the tribe's head hunter. They quickly managed to get back to the hotel, and when they did they'd lost Malacus. After packing up and Lilliuni getting back into her royal white dress, they hired a car and began driving back to the desert. It was quite a long way away, but during the ride Lilliuni told the couple what to do when they arrived. 

"Alright, both of you. I'm going to go in, while you two stay behind. I'll give them the spools and show them how they work. And...and...while I'm in there I need one of you two to hold my bag." She sighed. "Um...Jezebel. You'll be the one holding it. I want you to promise me, solemnly swear that you will not look at what's inside."

"I promise and solemnly swear."

"Good. This means I really trust you. And don't worry Frank, I really trust you too."

"No problem kiddo. Should we have our car close by if things go south?"

"Yes, and be ready."

Several hours later, they'd made it to the Sahara Desert once again and back to where they'd first met. From that point on, Lilliuni guided them until they reached a half dead half alive oasis area. 

"Stay here. Jezebel...here's my bag. I'll be back."

Lilliuni slowly walked into the dying oasis and felt a wave of relief to be back home, but that relief quickly left as the people began coming out of their homes and seeing her. She cringed as she heard the alarm call passing through. She walked on, head held high and showing no fear though she was a bundle of nerves inside. She made it to the center of the oasis to where her beautiful wooden carved throne was and there sat the old royal Colanto surrounded by hunters and guards. Since she'd been gone he'd been forced to take the throne Full of anger and hostility, the guards pointed their spears at her and advanced towards her.

"Colanto! Stop them!" She begged. "Ow!" The other members of the tribe had gathered around and had started throwing stones. "Ow! Stop! Please!" She barely dodged a fairly large one to the head.

Colanto glared at her with his ancient eyes. "And why should I help you after you betrayed us? After all that you've done to us you really think I will help you? You really have the audacity to return here with the knowledge that you will be killed for your crimes?" He was barely audible over all the shouting and throwing of rocks, meanwhile the spears kept her in place.

"BECAUSE I COME WITH A PEACE OFFERING!" She screamed.

Though the rest of the tribe was significantly less intelligent than the old leader Colanto and Lilliuni, they still knew the basics of the English language and enough to communicate with their enemies. They understood peace offering and immediately stopped their assault and backed away.

"Very well." Colanto agreed. "Show us this peace offering.

Lilliuni slowly stepped up to the throne and opened her hands in which she held the two metal objects. "They are called spools."

The tribe people, unknowing of what they were and seeing no value, raised their rocks and spears once again.

"Wait!" Colanto ordered. "And what is the purpose of these...spools?"

"You put them in trees!" She explained, grabbing a rock from the ground. "Watch." She placed it on the middle part of the nearest tree and started to hammer it into the tree. Once it was inside the trunk just enough, she beckoned the old royal closer. Holding the other people of the tribe back, he slowly walked towards her. She grabbed a large leaf and then turned the knob on the spool and smiled triumphantly as the water came out and onto the leaf. She turned it off again and gave it to the old royal, who took it and drank it.

"Well...is there peace restored?" She asked hopefully after handing him the other spool.

"No."

"What?!?!?"

"Do you really think an offering small and simple as this would make up for what you've done?"

"That was a while ago Colanto! I thought a man as smart and intelligent as you would know well enough to accept this!"

"I would have, had you returned what you stole and had not been teaming up with the people outside our tribe!"

"What are you talking about? I never did that!"

"LIAR!" He thundered, stirring whispers and murmurs among the people. "Malacus saw you! Denying your most recent betrayal in addition to what you have already done?!?!? You are FOREVER OUTLAWED OF THIS TRIBE! KILL HER!"

Screaming in terror as the rocks flew and the spears barely missed her, Lilliuni ran as fast as she could out of her dying home. 

Meanwhile, while all that was going on Frank and Jezebel sat in tense silence as they waited for Lilliuni to return. 

"That girl's really something." Frank said, hoping to break the ice.

Jezebel smiled. "She sure is. You know every time I look at her it makes me wonder why we never had kids."

"Oh honey, you know why. We wanted to explore the world together! Enjoy each other's company as long as we could."

"We have explored quite a lot of places Frank, don't you think it's time we settled down?"

"I don't know. Maybe. And if we had kids, we'd be grandparents before they left for college!"

"You know that's not true."

"I know."

Silence appeared again, and almost as soon as it did Jezebel broke it again. "What's in this bag anyway?" She wondered out loud.

"I don't know, but remember your promise. You can't open it." He warned firmly.

She sighed. "Oh come on! Haven't you been dying to know?"

"You'd betray her trust so quickly? And maybe I have been a little curious, but that doesn't mean I'd go behind her back and look around if she wouldn't want me to."

"Don't start with that holier than thou thing!"

"I'm not starting with that! Stop being defensive!"

"I'm not being defensive! And anyway, she's just a kid! She's not going to know!"

"Jezebel! DON'T!"

Before he could finish, Jezebel zipped open the leather purse and gasped at what was inside. Frank immediately turned his back to her and refused to look despite his wife's protest.

"Frank you have to see this!" She pleaded. "Please!"

He didn't respond.

Jezebel stared in awe as she pulled out a one size fits all simply crafted tiara with points at the ends and intricate carvings in between the real sapphires underneath each point. Putting it back she pulled out two pure gold bangle bracelets with little crushed pieces of sapphire sprinkled all over them. After putting those back she pulled out the last item, a beautiful thick golden chain which wasn't a choker with a tear drop sapphire jewel firmly attached to it. "Oh wow! No wonder she's so protective of this thing!"

"I can't believe you..." Frank muttered.

His wife snorted and put the necklace back but forgot to zip up the purse back again. "She'll never notice."

Suddenly, a scream was heard from the tribal home.

"FRANK, JEZEBEL! START THE CAR!"

Frank turned the key and started it, looking back as a terrified girl ran towards the car. Jezebel threw open the door and Lilliuni jumped inside and slammed the door behind her.

"THIS MEANS WAR!" She heard the tribe scream before she shut the window.

"DRIVE!" She yelled. 

Frank pushed the pedal to the floor and drove until the tribe could no longer be seen. He slowed down before asking, "Are you alright?"

"I'm okay." She breathed, still scared.

Jezebel frowned, looking her over. "No you're not! You're bleeding! What did they do to you?"

"They threw rocks at me and..." She trailed off when her eyes landed on her leather bag.

"And what Lilliuni?" Frank asked, focused on driving.

"You...you...opened it...you looked inside." She barely managed to say. 

Jezebel looked down and realized she'd forgotten to zip the bag up again. "Lilliuni-"

"NO!" The girl snatched the bag off of the woman's lap. "I TRUSTED YOU! AND FRANK!" She shouted, starting to cry.

The woman was thinking of blaming him as well, but then sighed. "Frank didn't look! He didn't! You want to be mad at someone, be mad at me!"

"I AM MAD AT YOU! I'M LUCKY YOU DIDN'T STEAL ANYTHING!" She shouted, looking through her bag before sealing it again. She stopped shouting and just burst into tears.

"Lilliuni...please...I..." Jezebel couldn't finish, realizing just what she had done.

Lilliuni looked at her, twin tears streaming down her cheeks. "I can't believe you." She whispered.


	3. Chaos Errupts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blue Clan of the Tribe attacks, and thus sparks a war among the people

By the time Lilliuni, Frank, and Jezebel got back to the hotel again it was late evening and the sun was setting. They'd made it back to their room, though the child wouldn't look at let alone talk to Jezebel.

Frank locked their door. "Alright, tell me what happened." He said as he grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom. 

"Well, as soon as I went in they tried to hurt me and they only stopped when I told them I had brought a peace offering." She explained, wincing a little as he sprayed disinfectant on her wounds. "I showed them how they worked, and then Colanto said it wasn't enough of a peace offering!"

"Who's Colanto?" Jezebel asked.

Lilliuni pretended she didn't exist and didn't respond.

"Who's Colanto?" Frank repeated.

"He's the old royal, and the one who trained me to lead. He said that these two small things weren't going to make up for all the big crimes I had committed, and he said I'm forever outlawed from the tribe!" She said, sounding a bit sad. "I mean...it's my home...and I can never go back!"

"I'm really sorry about that, but we've got to be prepared for their attack. You said they waged war on you?"

"On us, and on all people outside the tribe!"

Jezebel groaned. "Oh great."

"Do remember any wars before this?" Frank asked.

"There were a few, but those were before I was born." Lilliuni sighed.

"Can you think of anything that would make them stop the war? Other than another peace offering?"

"Not really. And where are we going to find another peace offering anyway? What are we even going to use?"

Jezebel yawned. "Well I suggest we all go to bed early and get a head start on them in the morning once we come up with a game plan."

"That's not a bad idea." Frank agreed. 

Lilliuni reluctantly agreed.

Everyone slept peacefully for only a few hours, because the loud police sirens woke them up. A dazed and tired Frank stumbled out of bed and opened the window with a yawn. He quickly woke up however when he saw the massacre going on four floors down. Police cars were every where, lights blazing, cars crashing, guns shooting, and people screaming. It was a blood bath down there!

Jezebel had woken up now too and once she had made it to the window, her face turned as white as a sheet.

"Lilliuni!" She pulled the girl out of bed, who was trying to ignore the noise.

"What? What is it?" Lilliuni hissed irritably. 

"Look!"

She gasped and said something in an unfamiliar language. "I thought they meant war on just us! Not on everyone!"

"You mean that's your tribe down there doing this?"

"Unfortunately! I have to stop them! They're after me!" She said, darting to the door.

Frank stopped her. "I am NOT letting you die! And besides, they're clearly not JUST after you! We are going to stay here and hide until all that stops!"

Jezebel gasped. "And let all those people die?" She asked in horror.

Her husband was starting to get more and more irritated. "Jezebel! It's out of our hands! There's nothing we can do! The police are down there and are handling it! I wish we could do something but we can't! Not without a peace offering!"

Lilliuni folded her arms and scowled. "Then why don't we try and find one now? Search on your phone or something!"

"No! We need our rest for tomorrow and the best thing to do right now is to lay as low as we can!" He snapped as he slammed the window shut. "We are staying here and laying low until I say it's safe to leave! Is that clear?" 

His wife merely nodded and climbed back into bed, even though she wished desperately that she could do something.

Lilliuni checked to see if the door was locked, but didn't go back to sleep. She just stood there, a scowl on her face and eyes on the ground. "You're being so unfair." She muttered.

Frank rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, of course I'm being unfair. Keeping you safe and alive is completely unfair." He said sarcastically. 

"It's my life! I can do what I want with it! Why should I have do to what you say?" 

"Technically, you don't. You agreed to our rules in exchange for us helping you make peace with your tribe! If you want to go risk your life and fail at making peace, fine. Just don't expect our help anymore."

"What do you know about making peace with an Indian tribe? How do you know I'll fail?"

Jezebel spoke up. "Because they're too angry right now and confused and scared because of everyone going crazy down there so there's really no point!" She explained, figuring she might as well join the argument because she certainly wouldn't sleep anytime soon.

"Shut up! No one asked you!" Lilliuni shouted.

"Hey! Don't you dare talk to my wife like that!" Frank warned.

"Whatever!"

"I know you're still mad at her for looking in your bag, but she and I have already talked about it."

The girl's eyebrows shot up. "Really? When was that?"

"Just after you fell asleep."

Jezebel stood and walked over to her. "Lilliuni, I didn't have a chance earlier and I wanted to give you some time to cool off before I apologized. I'm really sorry I broke your trust and looked in your bag. I hope I can gain it back some day."

Lilliuni nodded in acknowledgement, then turned back to Frank. "And anyway, if you think I'll fail then why are you even helping me?"

"I said I think you'd fail ALONE!" He groaned. "We're helping you because we don't want you to be killed! That's why we're helping you find a peace offering and not letting you go out there!"

"We're not going to let you die!" Jezebel added.

The child was too angry and overwhelmed at that moment to think about the words that came out of her mouth. " I HATE YOU BOTH!" She yelled.

"OH REALLY? WELL WE LOVE YOU!" Frank shouted.

Lilliuni gasped and put a hand over her mouth not only in horror at what she'd just said, but shock at his response. "You...love me?" She asked hesitantly, anger melting away.

Jezebel nodded. "Even though it's only been a few days, a few crazy days, we've come to love you."

"You're sweet, smart, cute, and you've made us very happy." Her husband explained. 

Lilliuni frowned. "I have? How could you say that with all the trouble I've caused you?"

"We love you, troubles and all."

"I...I...um...don't know what to say..." 

"You don't have to say anything."

The girl smiled with tears in her eyes. She looked at both of them, still not quite believing it. Since she didn't know what to say, that didn't mean she didn't know what to do. She ran over and hugged them both, and couldn't keep herself from crying just a little bit. Though this time it was with happiness, not sadness. When morning finally came, everyone quickly got ready and turned on the news before heading down for breakfast. Reports of the damage were on every news channel available, murder stories, eye witness interviews, and so much more. It was horrifying and made one sick just to think about it. The TV was quickly turned off, and they headed down for breakfast.

"Lilliuni, you've got to eat something." Frank said.

"After what I saw? I can't eat a thing." She mumbled.

"Please try to, you'll need your energy." Jezebel said.

"Oh alright."

"Okay, so we need another peace offering. The spools didn't work, though they had something to do with water. We need to find something that has to do with water, but bigger and better than the spools." She said. "A really big water resource...a well maybe?"

"That would take a long time. Lilliuni, do you have any other ideas?" He asked.

Finishing her juice she answered, "I don't know...hmm...oh! That's it!"

"What's it?"

"Another home!" 

"What?"

"We all live in a small oasis in the desert, even though we are many there isn't much room for all clans of the tribe! If we can find another oasis for all of them, that would be perfect! Water, land, and a home! It's perfect! It's perfect!" She cheered.

"It's worth a search!" Frank grinned. "Wait, clans? What do you mean?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? There are three sections, we call them clans, to the tribe. The blue clan, who attacked last night, the red clan, and the green clan. And each one of them has their own royal and own set of jewels."

"What?"

"Yeah! I've met with the other royals a few times, and they're both my age. Sanashina is the green royal, and Chizurano is the red royal."

Jezebel smiled. "Lilliuni, don't you see? We can find a new oasis and then ask the other royals for help!"

"Great idea!"

Meanwhile, after the unsuccessful attack the members of the Blue Clan returned home battered and bruised. Colanto sat upon his throne, rubbing his temples. 

"We did not succeed in killing Lilliuni or the two people she was with. Why?" He asked.

"Not find her." One of them answered.

"Well tonight, you will go out again! You will find her, and those people, and KILL THEM! It doesn't matter how many extras you kill! KILL UNTIL YOU FIND THEM!" Colanto shouted.

The Blue Clan members made noises of discontentment, hating to go out again since they'd gotten hurt and lost a few men.

"Do you not remember what she did to us?" He asked, preparing to start another long winded lecture. He didn't get a chance to continue though, because at that moment the two other clans approached them. The young current royals Sanashina and Chizurano, were with their old advisers, Treeling and Feledraco, along with their clans.

"Colanto, what were you thinking?" Treeling, adviser of the Green Clan asked angrily. "You just sent them out to kill everyone in sight until they found Lilliuni and those people? Have you forgotten our agreement?" 

"What agreement?" He asked.

"The agreement to keep our tribe secret you fool!" Feledraco snapped. "You jeopardized the safety of all of us here! I can't believe you would do something so dangerous!" 

"Dangerous? Please! So we lost a few men, of course, but they can always be replaced!"

Treeling rolled her eyes. "Danger by exposure! Colanto, they have magic boxes and things and they must have seen what your Clan looked like and they will come after us soon! Now we have to risk the lives of more people because of what you did!"

Colanto shot her an icy glare. "They won't come for us! And you have to admit, my actions were justified! Lilliuni betrayed us! She committed many crimes against us!" He explained, and his Clan murmured in agreement. 

Feledraco nodded. "Yes! She has committed a lot of crimes, but to punish her with death? Ridiculous! She's just a child! You could punish her in lots of other ways, but not by death!"

"She deserves to die!" Colanto argued. "And she will die! I am sending more men out again tonight to finish the job!" 

Half the Blue Clan groaned, and half of them murmured in agreement.

Treeling sighed. "What's the point? You're just going to put us in further danger and most of your tribe doesn't even want to! They're tired, exhausted, and wounded!"

Colanto stood firm. "We are going out tonight! That is final!"

"COLANTO! NO!" The other advisers shouted. Their clans started getting angry. "You can try to go out, but we're going to stop you!"

And with that, the clans merged together in a full fledged battle. Blood splattered, rocks flew, spears were tossed, and screaming filled the air. Although the old advisers weren't attacked because they were second in command leaders and because they were more intelligent.

Sanashina and Chizurano watched in horror as the chaos erupted around them.

"We have to do something! The tribe won't exist if this keeps on!" Sanashina cried.

"We can come up with a plan later! Right now we need to get to safety! Come on!" Chizurano said, grabbing her hand.

The two ran off, hoping to find a solution to this terrible chaos.


	4. Resolution and Birth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will the war finally stop with the resolution the three royals come up with? Read and find out!

As they drove to the first stop, the three friends caught up on everything. Frank and Jezebel were fascinated to find out more about what went on inside the tribe, and were quite amused at Lilliuni's excited chatter and way of telling stories. As they listened, they found out a bit what the other two young royals were like. Sanashina was the shy one who was very polite and peaceful, and Chizurano was an outgoing and adventurous boy who liked to take risks but still knew how to be cautious. And before they knew it, they'd made it to their first destination! They all got out of the car and began to explore the area. It did have some plants and a small pond of water, but there wasn't any fruit, berries, or nuts around and it was much too small for the entire tribe. Getting back into the car, the kids sighed with relief.

"I sure love how this thing blows cold air!" Chizurano sighed. "How many more stops do we have?"

"We've got four." Frank answered. "So, Chizurano, was it?"

"Yeah?"

"How do you like being a royal?"

The boy shrugged. "It's okay I suppose. I like telling people what to do, but it does get boring sometimes with all the duties and responsibilities. I wish I could play and have fun like the other kids."

Sanashina nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too!"

Jezebel joined in. "Well once we find a new home for your tribe, you can make new rules. New home, new rules!"

"We're almost there!" Announced Frank.

Lilliuni raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah, the first two are really close together."

Chizurano peeked into the basket, getting hungry. "What's this?" He asked, frowning at the sandwich he'd pulled out.

Lilliuni grinned. "That's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! It's like what we'd eat at home, with the bread and the fruit?"

"Oh yeah! It just looks kinda funny."

"We're here guys!"

The girls scrambled out and went ahead with Jezebel while Chizurano had a bit of trouble getting out.

Frank shut his door and opened the back door. "Everything alright buddy?" He asked. As soon as he saw the kid he started to laugh. Chizurano had gotten peanut butter and jelly all over his face and the seat, getting very lucky not to ruin his white royal clothes. The boy giggled through his mouth full and swallowed. 

"These things are good but they sure are messy!"

Frank chuckled and pulled out some wipes and napkins out of the basket and cleaned his face and the seat before unbuckling his seat belt for him. "Ready to go?" Much to his surprise, the boy shook his head. "Why? Aren't you excited?"

"This car is too comfy!" 

Rolling his eyes with a smile the man replied, "If you're so lazy, why don't I carry you on my shoulders? We can't afford to waste much time."

"Yeah! Then I can be real tall and see the whole place!"

Once they made it to the new location, they found out that it was better than the last place and it was a lot healthier looking than the last one. Lots of trees, there were some berries and fruits, and there was a small river of water going through the entire area. Lilliuni really liked this place and was climbing the rocks and trees, chasing after a bird she'd seen. However, up in the trees she heard someone crying. Looking down, she saw that it was her friend Sanashina! She was about to go down and check if she was alright, but Jezebel had beaten her to it. 

"Hey, hey, what's the matter?" She asked.

Sanashina sat on a rock gingerly. "I fell and scraped my knee really bad." She explained tearfully.

"Here let me see. Ooh, honey that looks awful. Don't worry though, I can make it feel better."

"Y-you can?"

Jezebel reached inside her pocket and pulled out a small first aid kit. "I always bring this with me." She said as she opened it. "Now, this might sting a little." She sprayed the disinfectant. 

"Ouuuuchie! That hurt a lot!" The kid whined at first. "Wait, it's starting to feel better now!"

"See?" She dabbed at the blood with a cloth. "Now that the blood's stopped all you need is a bandage. Aaaand, there! All better!"

Sanashina smiled. "Thank you, Miss Jezebel."

"No problem. Come on, let's go find the others." 

Lilliuni felt a stab of jealousy as she watched the entire thing and saw them walk away holding hands. She loved Frank and Jezebel, and she loved her friends too, but she kind of couldn't wait until they were gone. She was the only one who was supposed to be with the Walkers. Unfortunately for her, she saw them meet up with Frank and Chizurano. Except Chizurano was on Frank's shoulders! What was he doing there? She scowled, not liking the attention her friends were getting. She didn't get to pout very long though because they were calling for her.

"Lilliuni? Come on! We're leaving!"

She climbed down and stomped to the car, then moodily got in and buckled her seat belt. This behavior didn't go unnoticed by everyone they just didn't address it, yet. The drive to the next location was much longer than the other two, and the kids seemed to be getting a little antsy. 

"Hey you two, why don't you play hot hands to keep you busy? Or I spy?" Jezebel suggested.

"What are those?"

"Hot hands it when you put your hands facing up under someone else's hands and you have to try and lightly hit them, while the other person has to try to move their hands out of the way in time so they don't get hit. And I spy is when you say I spy with my little eye and describe something you see while the other person has to guess."

"Chizurano, let's play hot hands!"

She put hers under his and lightly hit them. "Gotcha!" She giggled.

"You won't this time!"

"Just did!" 

"Definitely not this time! Ha! See? I told you!"

"Good one! Now let's switch!"

Lilliuni looked out the window and folded her arms, scowling harder as she listened to them having a good time. They were bonding SO well with the Walkers, and they were having SO much fun playing their little games! She used to play those games with them! As time went on, her friends played the games and Jezebel sang along to a song from one of the CD's she'd brought along. It was about friendship and love, and it was very pretty.

Chizurano sighed after she was done. "Jezebel, you're the greatest singer in the whole world!" 

She grinned. "Well, thank you!"

"Miss Jezebel? Mister Frank? Are you royals as well?" Sanashina piped up.

"No, why do you ask?" 

"Because you both wear shiny gold rings, and yours has a jewel on it!"

Frank explained, "We're not royals, though that would be fun. These rings symbolize us being married."

"That's cool! In our tribe the married people wear a special paint on their shoulder instead of rings." 

"We're here! We're here!" Chizurano cheered.

This place seemed the most ideal home for the tribe and everyone was very excited, except for Lilliuni of course. The plant life was thriving, and the sheer size of the place was bigger than they'd hoped for! there was a large lake in the center, and a river coming from it on both sides and stretching all through the oasis. Fruit hung heavily on the trees, oranges, lemons, apples, mangoes, berries covered the bushes, and plenty of nuts as well too!

"Jezebel! Look over here! Lots of rocks that can be used for construction!"

"And all these tree stumps over here are great for meetings and hanging out!"

Jezebel gasped. "These trees are the tallest we've seen yet! Let's climb up and see what else we can find!"

"Alright!"

"I love climbing!"

Frank stayed behind with Lilliuni, who was currently ignoring him and trying to go off by herself. Having enough of the way she was acting, he stopped her. She glared up at him and folded her arms.

"Come sit down." He said, walking towards the line of tree stumps.

She huffed and obeyed. "What?" she snapped.

"I've just about had it with your attitude young lady. You've been pouting and being moody ever since we came back from the last stop." He scolded firmly. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing." She lied.

"Lilliuni!" He warned.

"Okay, okay!" She surrendered. "I don't like how you and Jezebel are getting along so well with Sanashina and Chizurano..."

"You're jealous? Sweetheart, there's no need to be! You are never going to be replaced, and Jezebel and I will always love you. And even though all of that is good and true, that doesn't excuse your recent behavior." 

She looked at the ground. "M'sorry." She barely whispered.

"What?"

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting."

"I forgive you, now come here." 

They hugged tightly, and Lilliuni felt much better. He took her by the hand and led her back to where the others were.

"This seems like the perfect place, doesn't it?" He asked her.

"Oh yeah! It's got everything! We should get back to the tribe and tell them!" 

"Everyone! Come on down!" He called up the trees.

Soon, they were all together at the bottom. "What is it?"

"I know we all love this place, and it seems like the best place, but I think we should check out the last location."

"Awww Frank! Come on!" Chizurano whined. 

"My decision is final, now let's go! It'll all work out guys, just bear with me here." 

The last location wasn't even there at all! With a fresh reminder of the tribe members war, the three eight year old royals broke into a fresh panic. They rushed back to the car and started yelling to hurry up before the tribe killed each other completely! While they drove back to the tribe's home, the three kids all planned what they were going to say to the tribe to convince them. They planned to make some rules and lots of changes, and if anything went south Frank and Jezebel were there to help them in anyway they could. Finally after what seemed like forever, they made it back to the tribe's home. 

The war was still going full force when the three royals entered. With a mighty shout they got everyone's attention.

"Lilliuni! Sanashina! Chizurano! There you all are!" Cried Treeling.

"KILL THAT TRAITOR!" Colanto shouted, only to be whacked on the head and knocked out.

"PEOPLE OF THE TRIBE! LISTEN TO WHAT WE HAVE TO SAY!" Shouted Sanashina, standing up on a big rock with Chizurano and Lilliuni.

"This war was started because of me, and because of you all wanting to kill me." Lilliuni began. "There will be nothing left of a tribe if this keeps going! If you all attack each other because one is unhappy with something, what's to keep all of us here? As royals, we have some new rules."

Chizurano continued. "People outside of the tribe will only be considered enemies if they act harmfully or hostile or commit a crime towards you."

Unhappy murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

Sanashina said, "We have proof of kindness in people outside of the tribe! Frank, Jezebel, come here!"

Frank and Jezebel stepped up onto the rock with them.

"These people have not only helped us, but they have treated us kindly the whole time. If they were hostile and mean, why would they be here? Why would we be here?" She asked. "And before we give the next rule, we have a peace offering for everyone which we are sure will satisfy you all. All we want is peace, no more fighting."

Colanto, who'd become conscious again, scoffed. 

Feledraco shushed him and asked, "What is this peace offering?"

"A new home!" Chizurano said. "Far from here we have found another home, much like this one though it is better! The plants are healthy, there is lots of fruit, nuts, berries, and water! Birds sing in the trees and there is shade from the hot sun. This place is dying, and it is becoming harder to live in as our tribe grows. If you will come with us, we will show you and give you our final rules."

After a moment of discussion, the tribe agreed to come. Even though driving would have been quicker, they didn't have a big enough car to take them all and wouldn't have been able to afford one anyway. It was very hot that day, but despite the heat, the three young royals walked on with excitement and hope of their plan working. When they finally arrived, the people of the tribe looked around in awe, clearly loving the new home. Even Colanto liked it! 

"WAIT!" Lilliuni shouted. "Before you all explore, and return to the old home to retrieve your things, there are a few more rules we have. The ones with higher intelligence will teach everything they know to every member of the tribe every day including more language so communication is easier, and then that knowledge will be passed on to every child and baby. The next rule is that there will be no more royals!"

Everyone gasped.

"That's right! We will become a community of people! Together you will all make decisions, together you will help each other. Together you will achieve peace!"

"This all sounds good and well, but what about the jewels? Who will keep those? And who's to say people won't fight over those as well?" Treeling asked.

Sanashina smiled. "We thought of that! We've entrusted our jewels to Lilliuni!" She said, motioning to the girl who now wore all three bags. "She will go on a far journey soon to hide the jewels somewhere, then return and be with all of us again."

Chizurano finished up by asking, "So? Has peace been restored?"

The ENTIRE tribe cheered with happiness in a resounding yes. Half of them ran around to explore, while the other half headed back to their old home to retrieve all of their items and such. After climbing off the boulder, Lilliuni, Sanashina, and Chizurano all danced around in a circle.

"We made peace! We made peace!" They sang.

Lilliuni giggled. "Frank, Jezebel, come join our celebration!" She said. Much to her surprise, the couple actually looked quite sad. "What's wrong?"

Jezebel blinked back tears. "We're going to miss you all, very, very much."

"I guess this is where we say goodbye." Frank sighed.

"WHAT?" The kids screamed.

"We were only visiting Africa for a short time, and we have to go home in two days." He explained. "You and your tribe are at peace now, so our work here is done."

Lilliuni burst into tears and ran to Jezebel. "You can't leave! I love you! And you love me! We...we're practically a family!" She sobbed. 

Frank squeezed her hand and looked up at Jezebel, who merely picked the poor thing up. He looked over at the other two children, who looked quite sad as well. Sanashina wasn't crying, but she was trying to comfort Chizurano who was accidentally sniffling a bit. "Let us talk for a minute, okay? Stay here."

He led his wife a few feet away behind a tree. "I can't stand leaving her here." 

"Me either! And even though we've known Lilliuni the longest, I'm going to hate leaving Sanashina and Chizurano here too!"

Frank suddenly smiled. "We have always wanted to adopt!"

"What about the legal stuff though?"

"It can be arranged! And we need to talk to Lilliuni too, because she got jealous earlier when we were with the others." He said. "Lilliuni! Come here for a minute please!"

She ran over, having calmed down some from her earlier crying. "What is it? Are you going to stay?"

"No, but we have an idea." Frank said. "What do you think about coming to live with us back home?"

The girl shrieked and laughed and hugged him tightly. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, I love you!"

He chuckled and hugged her back. "Now hold on a second, there's more to this than you think. You need to be sure that you're okay with leaving this place and country for a very long time. We may or may not visit in the future."

"I'm sure! I'm...oh..." She trailed off. "I'd really miss Sanashina and Chizurano though!"

Jezebel smiled. "What do you think, about them coming to live with us too?"

"That sounds really great! That would be so cool!" She cheered.

"You remember what we talked about earlier right? No more jealousy?" He asked.

"Right! You will always love me, and never more or less than anyone else! No more jealousy!"

Frank and Jezebel kissed each other, much to the child's disgust.

"It looks like everything's settled! Let's go tell them the good news!"

Sanashina and Chizurano were very excited and happy about the news, and that night when everyone else was moved into the oasis and everyone was there, they made the announcement that they were leaving and had decided to take the jewels with them. Because if they left them here, even if they were hidden, people would still look for it and fight over it. The tribe took it very well and wished them all a goodbye with a big party that night which was not only to say farewell but to also celebrate their new home. They started a nice, big fire and had cooked grown vegetables brought from the old home along with roasted nuts and their special bread. Tribal songs were sung, and to end the night they all joined together in their traditional harmony dance. Needless to say after final goodbyes and packing what few belongings they had, all three kids fell asleep immediately in the backseat of the car.

Even though they had to reschedule the flight in order to organize the legal adoption for the next week, no one really cared because they were all very happy to be together. Once the week finished, they all flew to Canada and made it to Frank and Jezebel's house. There was quite a lot to do, get a new house, get the kids rooms, new clothes, get them in school, and get them adjusted to living here. Although tonight, everyone just spent a cozy night in front of the TV eating pizza and cuddling together.

That night, after getting the kids in temporary beds and on the couches, Frank and Jezebel came in and gave them a hug and kiss and said goodnight. 

When it was Lilliuni's turn, she returned the kiss to both of them and whispered, "Thank you Mama, thank you Papa. I love you."

"We love you too."

And as everyone slept, there wasn't a noise, a cry, or nightmare. That night, a new family was born, and all was well.


End file.
